Last Stand
by J.J. Cook
Summary: Secrets and decisions from season four add up to trouble. A new murder with similarities send Beckett and Castle back into harms way. One will make a last stand to make sure the other survives. Spoilers through season 4. Slightly AU since the finale.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The phone was ringing somewhere on the nightstand. "Beckett." It was the worst of all nights to have a body drop. After Castle's behavior the last few weeks Beckett was having a harder time focusing on anything. Her life was fine before he came into it. Well maybe not fine, but at least it was hers. Now she was having a hard time picturing her life without him in it. All that thinking had kept her up until the wee hours of the morning. It seemed like she had just gone to sleep when the phone rang.

"Give me that address again." She forced herself to sit up and wrote the address down. She no longer trusted herself to remember. Throwing on a pair of slacks and a shirt she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and grabbed her phone. She wouldn't call at four am but she could send him a text. That way it looked like she tried.

Driving to the crime scene she couldn't help but notice the address. It was right next to the precinct. Pulling up out front. She followed the activity to the law offices next door. Esposito met her near the entrance.

"Beckett, we've got a big one."

"What do you mean?"

"The victim's pretty high profile."

"Who is it?"

"Judge Markaway." Kate remembered all the warrants she'd gone to Markaway for. She remembered the time she'd played poker with Castle and Markaway, and the Mayor. "Beckett there's something else. He was stabbed, and the wounds look familiar"

Beckett didn't need to ask. A stabbing immediately took her back to 1999, to her own Mother's murder. Her hand went to her chest on its own. Feeling the scar under her shirt where a sniper's bullet had entered.

Lanie was crouched near the body and looked up when Kate entered. "Lanie what have you found?"

"Well the wounds look familiar. The fatal wound certainly appears to have been delivered as a low angle thrust to the kidney and tearing indicates that it was twisted. Like the others the additional stab wounds were for show. Inflicted after he was immobilized and on the ground."

"You're telling me this is his eighth victim?"

"Sweetie it certainly looks that way. I'll get him to the morgue and do a full workup but it looks like we are dealing with the same guy that killed your mom." Lanie hated the look that statement caused on Beckett's face. The homicide detective normally so together and strong was suddenly that 19 year old crossing the police tape for the first time. "Where's Castle?" Kate just shook her head. "He should be here for this. He should be here for you."

"Lanie that's done. I've screwed it up and I'm done trying to set the clock back. Right now I've got much bigger things to worry about. Will you give me a call as soon as you get finished?"

"Girl you'll be my first call."

"Thanks."

* * *

Kate was standing in front of the board writing down what they had gathered at the scene when the elevator dinged and the familiar smell of coffee filled the room. She turned to grab a photograph from the desk and noticed Castle standing there looking over the board. One coffee in his hand, staring at the board. He had stopped bringing her coffee weeks ago and yet it still stung. She picked the now cold mug from her desk and took a sip.

"Beckett, was Judge Markaway murdered?"

"Yes, Castle I'm so sorry I meant to give you a call once I knew but it's been crazy around here." Castle noticed the circles under her eyes. He'd gotten the text this morning and knew that she'd been up since at least four. He regretted not getting her a coffee too, but he was still angry and hurt. He stepped to the board to read what they had gotten.

Beckett's phone rang on the desk and she answered. "We're on our way." Beckett grabbed her jacket. "Lanie has something. Wanna go."

"Absolutely." Castle followed and the ride to the medical examiners office was just as tense as the last three weeks had been. Kate knew they needed to talk but Castle kept saying everything was OK. She was tired of pushing. She knew it was all her fault and was ready to let him go his own way. Back into the world to be a famous writer.

Walking into the room Lanie grabbed a baggie from the desk and handed it to Beckett. "Now there's no doubt who's involved." Beckett read the piece of paper. _Castle + Smith = Trouble for Beckett,_ was all that was written there. "I found it stuffed in the pocket of his shirt." She handed the paper to Castle.

"What about the wounds were you right?"

"Yes it's the same type of wound used on your mother and the four other stabbing victims. Bruising makes it look like it was the same type knife as well." Lanie watched Castle as he read the paper. The look on his face was odd. It wasn't the shocked look that she would have expected. "Oh, and time of death was between eight and ten."

"Thanks let me know if you get anything else."

Outside the door Kate stopped. "Castle who is Smith?" She half thought it was another bimbo like the one he'd been parading around the last few weeks. Reading the note she thought it was someone pointing out that she and Castle were over.

Castle sat in one of the chairs outside the autopsy room. Picking at the paper sleeve on his coffee cup he began. "Right after you were shot a man named Smith called me. He said that Roy had sent him some files. Files that Montgomery had used for leverage to keep his family and you safe. Smith said that he'd gotten the files after your shooting but that whoever was doing all this knew he had them and that as long as you stopped investigating then you'd be safe."

"That's why you asked me to back off?" Castle shook his head. "You had no right." Beckett began to walk away.

"I can contact him." Castle shouted after her. Beckett stopped and stood there with her back to him for a few moments as if she was deciding which path to take.

"Make the call."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Own nothing. Just trying to make it from Monday to Monday.

Chapter 2

"Why didn't you call as soon as Lanie saw the connection to your Mom's murder?"

"Castle, while you say things are great, we haven't been on the best terms lately." She paused before continuing. She really hadn't done it on purpose; at least she didn't think she had. "Honestly you know when it comes to my mom's case that I tend to get carried away. As soon as those thoughts started running through my head I got caught up and I really did just forget to call."

"Kate, you know there is no way this is the same guy that killed your mom right?"

"Yes I distinctly remember shooting Coonan to save _your_ life. But, this is related. It might not be the same hired hand, but the same guy is pulling the strings. The same guy that ordered my mother's death, the death of her colleagues, the deaths of Raglan and McCallister, and Captain Montgomery. Coonan, Lockwood, or the guy that shot me, whoever it is this time I will not stop. I will not back off. This is my last stand. Castle, I take my life back or I lose it. Either way it ends now." Castle didn't respond but nodded. She was going back down the rabbit hole. A rabbit hole he was responsible for reopening. A rabbit hole that he felt he'd pushed her into, twice now. Despite the fact that she didn't love him and she'd lied about remembering the day of her shooting, now was no time for him to abandon her. If nothing else they were still friends.

"How long does it usually take for him to contact you?" Kate was standing across from Castle in the hallway. Castle had placed a call to the mysterious Mr. Smith and now they were awaiting his response.

"Last time he sent me directions within a couple of minutes." She checked her watch. It had been over twenty since he had made the call.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Beckett was still fuming. She was sure that if she were a cartoon character steam would be coming out her ears. Castle didn't need the steam to know she was angry. She had every right to be, but he stood by what he'd done and knew he'd to it again to protect her. Just like her lie, he knew that when his came out it had the potential to destroy their relationship. Whatever was left of it.

"During the case with the Mayor. Smith was worried that it was an attempt to get to you. With the Mayor thrown out of office there would be no reason to keep me around. Gates would have tossed me to the curb."

"Was the Mayor's case related? Did you keep that from me too?"

"We don't know. Related or not Smith needed to make sure I hung around to keep you away from the case and the Mayor was my ticket. Kate…" Castle didn't finish his thought because his phone vibrated. Looking down he read the text message.

"One hour parking garage at Essex and Delancey. He knows about Markaway and said to bring you."

"Let's go." Heading toward the car, Beckett called Esposito and told him about Smith. "Javi this is big and I need to keep Gates back from it until we know more. In case this is related to Montgomery can you and Ryan keep an eye on Roy's family while we meet this guy."

"You got it, Boss. We'll tell Gates you're following up a lead with Markaway." Javi paused, "Beckett, be safe. Wear a vest just to be sure."

"We will. Listen Javi thanks for everything. You and Ryan be safe too."

For thirty minutes they sat across the street from the main Essex street entrance and watched. This was one of the large municipal garages and there were four entrances. Four entrances made it impossible to see who was coming and going. With ten minutes to spare, Beckett eased the car into the garage. The text had indicated the fourth floor. There were five floors total and every spot was full as they worked their way up. Climbing past the third floor they noticed signs indicating the rest of the garage was closed for cleaning. "Covered all his basis didn't he." Castle was more impressed with this guy each time they interacted.

Pulling into a spot on the fourth floor Beckett walked to the trunk and grabbed a vest for her and Castle. "Just in case." They both fastened the vests and waited in silence.

At twenty minutes past the hour Castle spoke."Beckett, something's wrong isn't it?"

"I don't know." Beckett called Esposito. "Javi everything OK there?"

"Yes. His wife and kids are all at home and there is no sign of anyone around. How about you?"

"Well Castle's guy is…" Over the phone Esposito heard Beckett yell then a few seconds passed before a loud explosion. Then nothing.

"Beckett."

Ryan immediately knew something was wrong. "Javi what happened?"

"I don't know but Becket and Castle are in trouble." Ryan threw the car into drive and Esposito called in to the precinct. Within moments calls had started coming in about an explosion in a parking garage in lower Manhattan. Esposito knew that they could keep this from Gates no longer. Laying his head against the headrest and closing his eyes he made the call.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Just trying to make it from Monday to Monday.

Chapter 3

Castle struggled to open his eyes. Coughing, he felt white-hot searing pain. His hand rising to his stomach, he felt it, the reason for the pain. A large piece of rebar was protruding through this shirt just under the bulletproof vest he was wearing. He slid his hand around behind him and felt where the large steel bar entered through his back. There it was still connected to a large chunk of concrete holding him in place.

As he lay there images began to flash back to him. He and Beckett in her car rushing to this parking garage. Beckett so angry with him. He remembered telling her of the mystery man "Smith" who had contacted him just after she was shot. Of Smith's involvement in the case of the mayor. The anger was etched across her face, and was evident in the way she held the wheel of the cruiser as if trying to crush it within her own grip. Castle knew that if the secret ever got out she would be angry, hurt. He knew that it would break the bond of trust they had built over three years of working together. But he knew that he had done it to keep her safe. He knew that he could live without her in his life as long as he knew she was alive, and safe.

His mind flashed to Kate on the phone with Esposito standing in the parking garage looking over the edge and her face as she realized what had happened. She noticed a man running from the building. Dressed in black carrying a bag, Beckett's instincts had instantly kicked into high gear. They'd been set up. In the hurry to escape whatever the ambush entailed Beckett had grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the stairs. They were on the fourth floor of a five-story garage and there wasn't time to get back into the car and drive it back down. They had made it almost to the door of the stairwell when the ground shook beneath them and a cloud of dust obscured everything. Even each other.

As Castle's mind caught up he frantically began looking for Kate. She had been right in front of him as it had happened. Now though he wasn't sure which way to even look. He didn't think he'd been out long. Most of the dust had cleared but the sirens were still a way off. Unable to get up he turned his head from side to side, scanning the rubble.

Then he saw the bright white letters spelling POLICE on her vest. She lay there still. He could see her face partially covered by the hair that had fallen over her cheek. Under that hair Castle saw blood. As he scanned the rest of her he noticed her left arm lying at a strange angle from her elbow down.

"Beckett!" Castle summoned strength and yelled her name. No movement. With the thick vest on he was unsure if she was even breathing. The amount of blood on her face could be from a significant head wound. She could be dead or worse laying there dying and there was nothing he could do. The rebar was too long for him to try to pull his body off of it. He'd already checked his pocket for his phone but it wasn't there. Probably fell out in the blast and could be laying anywhere.

Then he heard the most wonderful sound since Alexis' first cry. A cough. He immediately looked over as Beckett's head lifted.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope still own nothing, well actually I did just pay off my car. So I guess I own that.

Chapter 4

Her eyes wouldn't open at first. As she moved ever so slightly pain brought tears streaming out of her eyes washed away the dust and allowed her to open them. As she lifted her hand to wipe her eyes she realized that one source of that pain was her arm. It was bent at a strange angle and part of the bone was protruding through the skin inside her arm. She switched and used her right hand to wipe her eyes. Her hand came away covered in blood. Feeling her face she noticed a large gash under her right eye and one above her left eyebrow. Wow, those are going to leave some scars. They would just add to her already impressive set.

Then her breath caught in her chest. A cough brought black spots into her field of vision. The cough also brought Castle's voice.

"Beckett are you OK?"

Her ears were still ringing from the blast but she recognized Castle's voice. As she lifted her head to look in his direction her eyes immediately fixed on the large steel bar.

"Castle." Her voice laced with raw fear. She tried to stand and realized that there was pain in her back as well as her arm. Unable to take a deep breath and thinking it was her vest she was about to take it off when she reached behind her and felt something. Immediately she realized why she couldn't take a deep breath. But, Castle coughed and then moaned and nothing else mattered.

Standing through the pain she climbed over the rubble to him. She knew he'd been crying. The paths running down his dust covered cheeks gave him away. Thinking back to her first aid training she began to assess him. There was actually very little blood. This was either really good or really bad. Either the bar had passed through without hitting anything major or all the blood was pooling inside.

"I can't find my phone. Do you have yours?" It took her a second to answer as wave of pain and nausea had hit and she had closed her eyes to breath through. Castle saw the face and knew it was pain. It was the same face she made occasionally when the scar from her shooting pulled. He wanted to reach out and take her hand but realized that the one closest to him was dangling loosely at her side, broken.

"Kate are you OK?" He asked gently, even quietly.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You are the one we've got to get out of here." Steeling her resolve she used her right hand to reach inside pants pocket. Smiling she pulled out the phone, but as she looked down she realized it was smashed. The glass screen was in a hundred pieces. With hope she pushed the button on top to wake the phone up and to her surprise it lit up.

Sirens were close but no one would know where to look for them. Then her phone rang and she jumped almost dropping the phone. She pressed the button to answer it. Seeing enough of the screen she knew that it was Esposito.

"Javi."

"Beckett you and Castle OK."

"No we need help." She looked around trying to determine if they were still on the fourth floor.

Beckett were you still at the parking garage?"

"Yes. We were on the fourth floor near the north stairs." She paused trying to catch her breath. "I'm not sure where we are now. I can't see much."

"Help is on the way. A call about an explosion came in about fifteen minutes ago. Ambulances and fire should be there soon. Ryan and I are on our way. You hang tight. Are you or Castle hurt?"

"Castle's going need some help getting out. He's got a piece of rebar through his abdomen. They are going to need a saw or something to get him out."

"Beckett, what about you?"

"I'm fine, Javi just make sure they get here quick Castle's in pain."

"We'll get you, just hang on. I'm going to call in and let them know you are there."

She hung up and slid the phone back in her pocket. Turning her face away from Castle she was racked with coughing. This time as she pulled herself together she tasted blood. She never turned so he could see her back but he knew something was wrong

"Kate, why'd you tell Esposito you were fine?"

She tried to smile but it hurt her face. "Castle, look at you. I think I'm just fine. First responders should be here any minute." The sirens had gotten louder but there were so many it was hard to tell if there were there yet.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Actually I am wearing some clothes that seem to be my size so I guess I own them.

Chapter 5

Pulling up outside Esposito and Ryan looked at each other unsure how Beckett and Castle could even be alive looking at the building.

Esposito located the search and rescue commander and flashing his badge asked if they had located any survivors.

"We've pulled nine people from the bottom three floors. The fourth and fifth seemed to have taken the brunt of the explosion. We haven't found your Detective yet, though. We believe that the north end was the least damaged though and she told you they were near the north stairs right?"

"Yes they were heading toward them when the explosion hit. She didn't know if they were still on the fourth floor or not."

"Looks like most of the main support columns in that section are stable. I've got two guys going up the stairs now. Can you contact her again?"

"I can try." He pulled out his phone and pressed the button to redial her number.

"Kate two guys are coming up the stairs. Can you hear anything?" She listened.

"Not yet." Just as she said that there was a loud sound. "Wait there was a loud boom."

"Did your guys make a loud boom?" The captain radioed to his guys.

"Yes they have reached the steel door to the fourth floor and hit it but it won't open."

"Kate they are at the fourth floor door."

"I can hear them but can't see them. There must be something blocking the door. Give me a second and let me look." Forgetting, Kate stood up and turned away from Castle to walk toward the noise. As she did Castle watched her go and gasped. He saw the metal sticking out of her vest just below her shoulder blade. Under her vest she was wearing a white blouse khaki dress pants. The blouse and pants were both stained red. Blood had run out under her vest and down the tail of her shirt. Suddenly Castle knew why she had been moving around him so carefully. She didn't want to turn her back to him.

Halfway to the door she stumbled and caught herself with the broken left arm. The cry that escaped her lips broke his heart. She quickly righted herself and continued on. He was unable to hear her anymore.

"Javi, there is a pretty big piece of concrete laying in front of the door. Its only about two feet high though so if they could cut the door, the top should open."

"Got it Kate they are heading up with a saw you guys stay back." As she hung up the coughing hit again. This time she choked and threw up. Blood. She was so thankful that she was out of Castle's sight.

After a few minutes she returned to him. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well this might be easier than they thought. Apparently the stairwell is intact. They just need to get the door open and they'll be up here to get you out."

"Kate." He was hesitant. The way she was acting, maybe she didn't know. How could she not feel it sticking out of her back.

"Castle what is it. Are you OK?" The simple act of speaking made her cough. She tried to get away from him but couldn't. She threw up again. He saw and the look upon his face broke her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Kate your hurt."

"Castle I'm fine. You're the one we've got to get out of here. Castle right now all that matters is getting you to the hospital. Back to Alexis." She was fighting the tears, fighting the fluid filling her lung, fighting the numbness spreading up from her feet. "Rick, I will not let her lose you. I know what it does to a daughter to lose a parent. I will not let her go through that."

It scared him that she had used his first name. She took his hand "Promise me you will hang on."

"It actually doesn't hurt that bad. Is that a bad thing?" She didn't know what to tell him.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Nothing owned. But it is getting closer to Monday.

Chapter 6

Castle knew that she was fighting for control. Control over the situation. Control over him. Control over her own body. He also knew that she was losing the fight for her own body. He felt her hand shake as she held his hand. The paleness of her skin, he's seen that before. That beautiful day in the cemetery as she lay bleeding near Montgomery's grave. That day he could cover her wound. Tell her to hold on. Today he felt useless. She was the one strengthening him. She was the one fighting while he lay there unable to even hold her.

As she was racked with another bout of coughing and vomiting there was a violent crash and soon lights began to flood the area. There had been enough light for them to see but now the area was awash with light and the light made everything worse.

Kate noticed Castle's color was pale almost green. Near a color she had become accustomed to, a color she often saw on dead bodies.

Castle noticed the absolute lack of color in Beckett's face. The lack of color a stark contrast to the bright red blood covering her shirt and vest and pants.

As the EMT's rushed into the space she sank back she sat down just beyond Castle's feet. One of the EMT's looked at her as he was about to say something. "Get him out of here first. Deal with him first." The EMT nodded and turned back to Castle.

Kate watched as they worked. She sat cradling her left arm. Stillness over took her. She felt herself leaning on her right side but was unable to stop it.

The EMT's had freed the bar from the concrete and slid a backboard under him. They were about to pick him up when the EMT looked back at her. The EMT knew she was about to pass out and she stopped him before he could come to her. "Get him out of here first."

"No I'm not leaving her." At this point as they lifted him he could see her again and the sight made him freeze. She was ashen. A trail of blood now flowed out of the corner of her mouth and nose. "No Kate. Please."

As the EMT's lifted Castle one called on the radio as they climbed over the rubble. "On our way out with the first one. But we're going to need another board quick. Detective Beckett is fading fast."

Down on the ground Esposito and Ryan were standing next to the Captain as the radio call came in. "Calahan, Curtis get up there. The two EMT's grabbed their board and bags and ran to the stairwell. As they got to the doorway the other two traded Castle off and headed back up.

They hadn't been gone more than five minutes but Kate had already slumped over on her side. Her eyes were open but she didn't move. The EMT's worked quickly. They saw the metal shrapnel sticking out of her back and quickly laid her on her side on the board and strapped her down. One last check and she was breathing, barely. "Detective, you hang on we're going to get you out of here."

"Go, go." The EMT's grabbed the board and covering the ground more quickly this time rushed down the stairs. At the bottom a gurney was waiting. As they loaded it into the ambulance the EMT checked and amazingly she was still breathing, barely. If she had stopped there would have been no way to give her CPR on her side, and there was no way to lay her on her back.

Thankfully it was 2:00 in the afternoon and traffic was lighter than it could have been. The ride to the hospital only took five minutes. As the EMT's passed her off to the emergency room staff they looked at each other. They both knew that they had done everything they could but that she was in bad shape. She'd taken a stand and ordered them to take him first. In those last few minutes she had gone downhill quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: Sorry it took so long. Morning sickness has put me out of commission for a couple weeks.

Disclaimer: Castle and the characters still belong to Andrew Marlowe and ABC.

Chapter 7

Castle had made it to the hospital conscious asking about Beckett the entire time. Pleading for any bit of information. Ryan had ridden with him and was trying to reassure him. At the hospital he was rushed into surgery and quickly anesthetized.

Twelve hours after giving into the sleep that overwhelmed him. Castle slowly began to come out of it. He opened his eyes. At first he couldn't see anything. He closed them again. Then he noticed something warm on his hand. He moved his fingers. The movement woke the young woman asleep with her head on his bed.

"Daddy? Daddy, can you open your eyes?" Slowly his eyes opened and the haze began to clear.

"Oh Richard, its so good to see you awake." His eyes turned to the other female voice. His mother was quickly at his side. "I'll go get the doctor." Martha quickly slipped out of the room and before he could even get the words to form in his head she was back with a doctor.

"Mr. Castle. You are one very lucky man." Castle still couldn't really focus on what he was saying. He shined a light in his eyes and pulled the cover back and listened to his chest and stomach. "Sir. You have a good-sized puncture wound to your lower abdomen. But believe it or not it managed to slide right through without damaging anything. So after a couple days of observation, watching for infection or any complications and you should be fine to get out of here."

Fine. How could he be fine? Beckett had been so worried. Beckett. Where was Beckett?

"Beckett, where's Beckett?" He almost tried to sit up but the doctor pushed him back. The doctor looked over to Martha for clarification.

"Who's he talking about?"

"A police detective, his partner."

"I'm not sure about him. I'll have a nurse check."

"No, no not him. Her. Detective Kate Beckett."

"OK? We'll check on her. No more getting up. You were really lucky but its going to hurt for a couple of days." The doctor wrote a few things on the chart and left.

"How long have I been out?" He looked at his mother and daughter.

"About 12 hours Dad."

"Have you checked on Beckett? You have to know something?"

"Dad we've been too worried about you." Alexis resumed her spot at the bed holding tightly to his hand. His head was still foggy but he simply didn't understand how his family hadn't thought to check on Beckett.

"Mr. Castle, I'm Marie and I'll be your nurse tonight. I checked on Detective Beckett for you. They just resumed the surgery."

"What do you mean, resumed?"

"Sir she came in in really bad shape. They took her into surgery but her body couldn't handle any more. They were forced to stop. She has been getting blood for the last four hours and about 20 minutes ago doctors went back in to resume the surgery. I'll give them a call and check again for you later, OK?"

""Thank you."

"Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No I feel OK."

"OK how about getting some rest." She looked at the other two women as she said it.

Martha knew the woman was trying to get rid of them. "Sweetie, now that your Dad's awake it might be a good time for us to go home and clean up and rest a bit."

"Yes, Alexis you all head home. I'm going to sleep a while and wait for word on Beckett."

"OK See you in the morning Dad." Alexis kissed him on the cheek.

"Mom, before you go. Could I borrow your phone?"

"This is probably against the rules, but you know me." She pulled her phone from her purse and handed it to him. "You didn't get this from me." She smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "So glad you're OK, kiddo."

The moment they left the room Castle pulled out the phone and called Esposito. A couple minutes later Esposito and Ryan rushed into the room. They were beaming and yet so tired.

"Bro, its good to see you awake." Esposito was the first to talk.

"How's Beckett?" Castle was in no mood to talk about himself. He knew there was something that they weren't telling him.

"Castle its' not good." Ryan spoke up this time. "She stopped breathing downstairs and they are worried about how close the metal was to her spine. She's been in surgery for 12 hours. The last four she's just been lying there on the table while they tried to get enough blood back into her to continue."

Tears had escaped from Esposito's eyes and Castle could no longer fight them either. "Is she going to make it?"

"They don't know man."

Castle closed his eyes and covered his eyes with his hand. "This is all my fault."

"What do you mean?" Ryan and Esposito looked to Castle.

"She wouldn't even tell me that there was anything wrong. When she turned to see if they could get the door open I saw her back. I saw the sheet of metal sticking out. Her back was covered in blood and she'd been hiding it. She wouldn't turn around so I wouldn't see. I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't. She just said that she wouldn't let Alexis go through what she'd been through." Castle stopped and composed himself "The EMT's tried to take her out because she would have been the quickest, but she wouldn't let them. They loaded me on the board and as they lifted me up I could see her. She was sitting on a piece of concrete leaning up against the wall. Blood was coming out of her nose and mouth, and I could see it in her eyes…She'd given up."

"Castle we've got to hope. Beckett's a fighter. We saw it last time. Who else gets shot in the heart and makes it?"

Esposito's phone buzzed. "Its Jim. We've got to go. We'll call you as soon as we know."

They rushed away and Castle was left all alone. Thankfully Marie came back in. "Mr. Castle how are you doing?"

"Marie, the love of my life is laying on an operating room table clinging to life. I'm not doing very good." It was strange. He had just told a perfect stranger that Beckett, that Kate, was the love of his life.

"Mr. Castle how about if I go down and get you some information. If I did that would you rest?"

"Marie I would owe you big time."

"OK you take these and I'll go get you some information." She handed him pain medication and a small cup of water. He took them and she left.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Castle still belongs to someone else.

Chapter 8

A nurse led Jim down a hallway to the ICU unit. As they entered the door Jim experienced deja vu. Just over a year ago he'd been in almost the same position. Walking into a room where his daughter lay clinging to life. This time ventilator didn't catch him off guard. Nor did the pale color of her skin. This time the doctors thought survival wasn't the question, now it was exactly what type of life would she live.

"She has significant swelling in the lumbar region of her spine. The good news is there doesn't seem to be any damage to the spinal cord itself. Now that said, pressure can cause just as much damage as a traumatic injury. We've started medication to reduce the swelling, but for now we wait. We won't be able to diagnosis the extent of the injury until she wakes up and we can actually ask her what she can feel and what she can move." The doctor's words were still ringing in his ears. Jim knew paralysis would devastate his daughter. His stubborn independent daughter.

Once the sun broke through the windows of his room Castle was ready to pester whoever walked through the door first. He'd slept off and on through the night thanks to whatever concoction of pills Nurse Marie had given him, but now it was time to know the truth.

Pressing the call button for the hundredth time someone finally came. "Marie said you were a difficult one."

"Did she tell you that all I want is to know about my partner, Detective Kate Beckett?"

"She did. Detective Beckett made it through surgery and she is in ICU."

"OK, now when can I go see her?"

"We will have to talk to the doctor. The visits to patients in ICU are very restricted." The nurse watched Castle's face drop.

"Mr. Castle the doctor will be coming by in an hour or so to check on you. Why don't you try to eat something before he gets here." He looked at the plate of food she sat in front of him. He acted as though he would eat until she left. Instead he reached into the drawer beside his bed and grabbed the phone.

"Esposito how is she?"

"Castle man you sound better this morning."

"Esposito it doesn't matter how is Beckett?"

"She's hanging in. They've got her in ICU. So far only her father has been allowed to visit. Hey Ryan and I are on our way back to the hospital we'll be there in about ten minutes." Castle quickly ate the fruit and a little of the biscuit they had brought him.

Ryan and Esposito walked in as he finished drinking his apple juice. They both smiled as they looked at him. "Wow, after seeing you come out of that garage I'm amazed that your even here." Ryan had tears in his eyes. The more sensitive of the team, the past 24 hours had been difficult on him.

"I though I was a goner too. How's Beckett?" Castle sensed that there was something they weren't telling him.

Esposito decided to lay it out for him. "Listen you need to make a decision right now whether your in or out. Lately you've been acting like a..."

"Jackass" Ryan quickly finished Javi's thought.

"Yes, a jackass for the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure what's going on between you two but do you realize what waltzing through the precinct, her precinct, with a different girl on your arm every day does to her? No you don't, because whatever's up you're just concerned with yourself. Now you need to decide right now whether you're done or if you're going to stick by and support her."

Castle was slightly shocked by the way Javier had handled him, but he knew no matter how close they had grown over the past couple of years, they were her boys. She was like their big sister and no matter what they were there to protect her. Even if it was Castle they were protecting her from.

"I'm sorry. You know she remembered what happened the day she was shot and she never told me. She lied to me about it. I told her I loved her and rather than tell me she didn't feel the same she lied about it."

"Dude, that's what this is all about?" Esposito pulled a chair up beside the bed. "Man that woman is so in love with you it practically oozes out her eyes. I've known her a while now and I've never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you. There are a thousand reasons why she may have lied about remembering but not loving you is not one of them."

Ryan added, "Castle that theory is even crazier than your ninja assassin ones." That brought a small smile.

"So I'm an idiot. Now that we've established that will you please tell me if Beckett's OK?"

"The doctor doesn't know. There is swelling around her spinal cord and they aren't sure if the damage is permanent."

"How could she be paralyzed she was walking around after the blast?"

"The metal put pressure on it. It's too early to tell how bad it is. She's still out and they won't know until she wakes up." Just as he was beginning to get some information out of them the doctor walked in.

"Castle we'll come back and see you later." With that his only line to Beckett walked out of the room.

"Well Mr. Castle you are looking fantastic for a man that had a three foot piece of rebar removed from him yesterday."

"Sir am I in good enough shape to go visit another patient?"

"The detective?"

"Yes sir."

"I think we can arrange something. When I finish up I'll call her doctor and see if that would be OK." After a lot of poking and prodding the doctor left. His stomach hurt but his heart hurt more. He'd been such an ass over the past few weeks. Seeing the pain in Beckett's eyes when he pulled up with the flight attendant only made him push harder. Now he regretted every little dig he had tried to get in on her. Despite everything he'd done she had sacrificed herself to save him. He had no doubt that she would have been in much better shape if she'd gone out first, but she wouldn't even let the EMT's look at her until he was gone.

The nurse poked her head in the door "Mr. Castle, I will be back in about an hour and you can go upstairs and visit Detective Beckett."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: They still aren't mine.

Chapter 9

Before he could get downstairs to check on Beckett the woman he last wanted to see walked through the door to his room. Victoria Gates had a scowl on her face that would have made the toughest marine flinch. Castle did his best not to to cower under the sheet.

"Castle, its good to see you recovering. I wish I could say the same about my detective."

Only then did Castle even attempt to make eye contact. "Sir, I know its my fault."

"Your damn right its your fault without you to watch out for Beckett was out in a matter of minutes and probably maintains the ability to walk. With a civilian the priority of life kicks in and she wouldn't have allowed herself to go out first no matter what. So what were you two doing there in the first place?"

"Again my fault. After Captain Montgomery's death a man contacted me. He knew who was involved in Johanna Beckett's murder and would keep Beckett safe as long as she didn't continue to investigate." Gates was about to interrupt. "I know but she got shot anyway. Apparently he didn't find out about Montgomery's death until it was too late to prevent the shooting." Castle stretched the truth a little. They still didn't want to implicate Montgomery if they could prevent it. His family had been through enough.

"So why now? Why were you in the garage?"

"Judge Markaway's murder had several similarities to Johanna Beckett's murder. I contacted this guy, Smith, and he said to meet at the garage. Either he's involved or someone got to him first."

Esposito and Ryan had followed her in and Javi spoke up. "Looks like someone got to your contact. Fire crews found one other car on the fourth floor and there was a body inside. It matches the description you gave of Smith."

"Who was he?" Castle wasn't sure whether he was relieved the cloak and dagger was over or if he was terrified that there was no one left looking out for Beckett and Montgomery's family.

"We haven't identified him yet. His DNA isn't in any databases. The body was pretty damaged in the blast."

Kevin finally spoke. "We placed a call to some friends at the FBI. We figured in light of our assistance on recent cases they owed us a little. They are looking into it. But with his placement I'm doubt they'll find anything. My bets on CIA."

"What about Montgomery's family? Smith was supposedly protecting them too."

Gates fielded this question to. "They've been placed in protective custody by the U.S. Marshals. In light of potential involvement by people within the NYPD I thought it might be good to take them out of our control."

Castle looked to Ryan and Esposito for clarification. He was under the impression that they weren't telling Gates about the involvement of Montgomery.

Gates softened and pulled a chair beside his bed. "Castle look I still don't particularly think you should be riding along with Detective Beckett all the time. But I must admit that in recent cases your unique way of thinking has been of assistance. Second, I must admit that when I came in I was tough on Beckett. She took away my record as youngest woman to make detective and I held that against her. While I looked at the case of her shooting I didn't look into the cases surrounding it like I should have. Last night we threw ourselves into the cases and the guys brought me up to speed on all things Johanna Beckett."

"Captain figured we needed to lean a little harder on the military angle. I placed a few calls and the military is looking into anyone that served with Martin Holst, the Navy Seal, the rifle that shot Beckett was originally registered to."

There was a knock at the door. "Mr. Castle they are ready for you upstairs."

"Oh, sorry guys I finally got the OK to go see Beckett." The three officers agree to keep him informed and left to get back to the investigation.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry Derby Week here in Kentucky so it was super busy.

Disclaimer: Castle still belongs to ABC and boy is it going to be a long summer.

Chapter 10

Upstairs in ICU, Jim Beckett met Castle outside Kate's room. "Sir I'm so sorry. Beckett wouldn't let them help her first."

"Castle you know Kate does what Kate wants. She wouldn't have had it any other way." He patted the younger man on the shoulder. "Go on in. She's still sedated but they said she can probably hear you." The young man pushing his wheelchair pushed Castle into the room and pulled him up next to her bed, locked the wheels and then left promising to return in one hour.

Castle waited for the man to close the door before reaching for her hand. Gently he took it, noting how cold she felt. Looking to her face the two large gashes had been stitched up but her face was still swollen and bruised. He stood very slowly and placed a light kiss on her cheek. She stirred just a bit but her eyes remained closed.

"Listen Beckett, I'm so sorry for how I've been acting. I know that if you were awake you'd say I'd been acting like a jackass. And I have. I heard you after the bombing, interrogating the suspect. When I heard you say that you remembered every minute of being shot I freaked out. You lied to me about remembering and I just assumed, yes I know what happens when you assume, but I thought it was just easier than telling me you didn't feel the same way. I'm sorry. You've put up with enough over the years that you deserved better from me. You tried to talk several times and I blew you off. Once you're better we'll have that conversation. Regardless of how you feel about me you deserve better."

Before long the door opened behind him and he turned around expecting to see the guy returning for him. Instead it was a doctor with Jim following. Castle reached down to unlock the wheelchair to wheel himself out. Jim placed his hand on his shoulder, indicating for him to stay.

"Dr. Marshall this is Richard Castle, Kate's partner with the NYPD."

Dr. Marshall held out his hand "I heard that you were riding along with the NYPD but from the looks of things you aren't just riding along."

"Detective Beckett does a good job of keeping me out of trouble usually. I'm afraid this one was my fault."

He nodded and then checked information on the machines hooked up to Beckett's body. Once he finished he and a nurse pulled the covers back and gently rolled Beckett onto her side so they could check her back. There Castle could see a large bandage with blood marking the extent of the wound. The wound went from just below her shoulder blade to just above her tail bone. When they removed the bandage to change it Castle could see the large black stitches that doctors had used to close the gash left by the sheet of metal. Unable to look away Castle's stomach turned thinking about how painful it must have been for Kate to have moved around in the parking garage. After finishing and laying her back the doctor checked on her arm. He removed the bandages covering the place where doctors had surgically pinned the bones back together. Shining a light in her eyes the doctor took the chart back and wrote something else down.

"Well Mr. Beckett. She's still hanging in there. The surgical site on both her back and her arm look good. All her vitals remain strong. Tomorrow afternoon we will do another round of imaging to check the swelling. Once the swelling decreases we will let the sedation wear off and see where we are. Do you have any questions?"

Jim looked to Castle and he didn't want to over step so he simply shook his head. The doctor placed the chart back in the container on the wall patted Jim on the shoulder and then left.

After a few moments of silence Jim spoke. "Rick, this might be bad. You know Katie as well as I do and she's not going to do well with being confined. I need to know now if you're ready for this?"

Castle was struck by Mr. Beckett's directness. He didn't know how much Jim knew about how he'd been acting so he wasn't sure how to answer him. "Sir, I love your daughter, but I'm afraid that she doesn't love me. I'm not sure that I can just be friends. My feelings run too deep."

"Son, why do you think that Katie doesn't feel the same?"

"Well Sir, while she was interrogating a suspect a few weeks ago I heard her say that she heard me say I loved her when she was shot. But she lied to me and told me that she didn't remember anything."

Jim walked over to Kate and took her hand. "Castle after the shooting she locked herself away in my cabin and wouldn't let anyone come visit. I was the only one she allowed to see her. Castle she was so broken and in so much pain. Mentally she was scared to death that they were still coming to get her. Despite the fact that she couldn't life her left arm she slept with a gun under her pillow. Slowly she told me about what she remembered, including what you said. She wasn't sure if she was whole enough to love you back. But Rick don't doubt her feelings. Katie's never been this serious about anyone. But son her life has been turned upside down again and this time she is going to need you. Are you ready?"

"Sir don't let her push me away and I'll be there. Always."

The sound of the door broke the two men's moment of bonding. It was the young man to transport Castle back to his room. Standing again he kissed Beckett on the forehead and whispered something in her ear. Sitting back in his wheelchair the young man pushed him from the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Upstairs Alexis was furious. She'd been there for nearly an hour, waiting. Her father was far too injured to be out making rounds visiting.

"Hey pumpkin."

"Dad what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You need to be resting not out visiting. Dad, you need to start thinking about yourself and what you're doing. Heck, you need to start thinking about something other than Detective Beckett. A woman who has almost gotten you killed more times than I can even count."

"Whoa, where is this coming from? Do you have any idea what happened yesterday?" He waited but she didn't respond. Working with Lanie he wasn't sure how much she might know about the case.

"Alexis have a seat." He waited for her to sit. "Now listen. Have you been to see Beckett?"

"No what would I?"

"Sweetie I owe her my life. It was my contact we were meeting. She had nothing to do with the explosion. I got set up."

"But Dad they were after her."

"Yes because two years ago I overstepped my bounds and looked into her mother's case behind her back. I got her started and I put her in the crosshairs. Yesterday after the bomb went off and we were stuck there in the parking garage she said that she wouldn't let you lose me. That she knew what losing a parent did to a kid, and she wouldn't let you go through that. So when the EMT's arrived, despite that fact that they could have easily and quickly gotten her out, she made them take me first. She lost fifteen minutes of treatment waiting for them to cut me free. Alexis, Beckett sacrificed herself to protect me. There is a good chance that given the amount of time she delayed treatment for her wounds that she will never walk again. Are you hearing this?"

Alexis was listening but she didn't want to hear. She liked the anger toward Beckett better. It gave her someone to blame for the danger her father had been in. She didn't want to think that he'd put himself in that position. "Alexis, what about her father? A man that has already lost so much. How do you think he feels?"

A knock on the door saved Alexis from having to answer. Esposito and Ryan opened the door. "Castle sorry to interrupt, but do you have a minute."

Alexis huffed and gathered her things to leave. "Alexis wait."

"I'll be back later when you have some time." Esposito and Ryan both looked at each other wondering what they had just witnessed.

"Sorry guys she's mad at me, at Beckett, at the world right now. What do you have?"

"OK the military came through. Take a look at these and see if any of them look familiar." Esposito handed Castle a pile of photos.

"Sorry, no. None of them look familiar."

"OK we didn't think so either. That was Holst's team. So we expanded the search and asked for teams that might have been posted with them. See if any of these look familiar."

Castle studied the second stack. Three photos in his face dropped. "Dick Coonan?"

"Keep going."

"Lockwood."

"Keep going"

"No way. Beckett was right." A name caught his attention and he pulled a photo out of the pile. "Its Halstead's kid isn't it?"

"We're looking into that now. Looks like the investigator of the warehouse fire may have had something to do with this after all."

Ryan chimed in "We are looking into the rest of these guys since the military connections all seem to have come from this group."

"What about Smith any information on him?" Castle was still trying to find out if Smith had been another casualty or had been involved.

"No fingerprints and facial recognition have struck out locally. We've turned to the feds and we're waiting on them to run it all."

"Good work guys. Maybe we can keep Beckett safe by getting to the bottom of this before she even wakes up."

Ryan asks "How was she?"

"She looks bad. The doctor thinks she'll make it, but their worried about the swelling. You know Beckett isn't going to do well with being confined in any way."

"No Bro, but she'll have all of us to help." Castle nodded at Esposito's comment.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Beckett's brain was working she knew that. She could hear things going on around her. There was a beep ever so often and the world would sink further from her. Slowly she'd begin to hear things again before another beep would send her down again. Occasionally she heard her father talking to her. His voice was calm and comforting. Once she'd even heard Castle. Or at least she thought she heard him. Did that mean he was alive that he'd made it?

She remembered the blast and the searing pain. She remembered seeing him skewered on the metal bar. She remembered the EMT's arriving and sitting down when they removed Castle. She remembered the numbness that started in her toes and worked its way up her legs. That numbness was still there only now it was her entire body. Even her eyelids refused to obey her brain.

Finally, she began to hear again but this time was different. As her mind cleared this time and her eyelids began to open. This time there wasn't a burning in her throat. This time she felt, pain. Wincing a moan escaped from her lips. Quickly two different men were there at the side of her bed. Her father and Castle.

"You're ok?" She barely managed to get out before grimacing in pain. The effort it took to speak pulled the muscles in her back sending pain shooting across and down her back.

"Yes I'm fine." Tears slipped from Beckett's eyes at the sound of his voice.

A flurry of activity near the door made the two men step aside. "Miss Beckett I must say it is fantastic to see your eyes. I was told they were beautiful and now that I can see them I agree. I'm Doctor Marshall and did your surgery. We've got a lot of things to talk about." He pulled the sheet back from Beckett's legs. "Now I need you to close your eyes and tell me when you feel my hand." He began by touching her toes. He moved up her legs then to her knees. He skipped over and touched her stomach.

"There."

"OK good. What about now?" He touched her thigh at the top.

"Yes."

"And here" At the bottom of her thigh there was no response.

"What's wrong with me?" Coherent enough to know what they were going to say, she was already fighting back tears.

"Hold on I want to try one more thing." He pulled a pointy metal object from his lab coat. Starting with her toes he poked her, hoping for some kind of pain response. There was nothing until the inside of her left calf. When he poked her there she flinched. Smiling the doctor continued until she reported pain again in her upper thigh.

"OK here's the rundown. You sustained a serious penetrating wound to your back. I assume you remember the large sheet of metal." Beckett shook her head. "Well you got really lucky in that your vest prevented it from going any deeper. It went through your vest cut through the muscle on your back and into your ribs. The pointiest part did penetrate between your ribs and did some minimal damage to the area around your lung. Nothing serious though. Now the damage around your spinal cord was more significant. The cord itself was not physically damaged but the amount of swelling around it is what we are worried about. Swelling and pressure can do just as much damage. So the bad news is that as of now you have no feeling in your legs. The good news is that since you had pain in one calf it says that there is still hope of regaining full function."

"How long?" Beckett was already running a worst-case scenario in her mind.

"We have no way of knowing. For some improvement starts within a week for others six months. Beyond six months we can see small improvements up to a year. Spinal cord injuries are like head injuries every single one is different. The level of your injury could have included bowel and bladder functioning, but so far that seems unaffected. So we can't really predict where you'll be in six months."

"Thank you Doctor Marshall." Jim shook the man's hand.

The doctor then laid a hand on Kate's arm. "I know it's a lot to digest. Talk about it with your father and friends I'll be back in the morning and we can talk more. Everything is looking great so we're going to move you to a regular room this afternoon. There you'll have a lot more freedom than in ICU." Kate nodded, still in shock.

After the doctor left Jim noticed the look on her face. "Kate, how are you doing?"

"I'm not sure." Well at least she was being honest. Castle had expected to hear her say she was fine. "I'm really tired though."

"Absolutely. You rest we'll be back later, sweetie." Kate looked to Castle as they left. He looked sad. She didn't need his pity.

As they closed the door the tears fell. Unable to stop them Kate gave in. Her life might never be the same. She'd given everything to her career and now it was over, as was her life. Her mother's case remained unsolved. Realizing she'd literally made her last stand Kate sighed. What was she supposed to do now?

Crying wore her out and within a few minutes she found it harder to keep her eyes open. Before long she was asleep. At least in her dreams she was still whole.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After several hours of sleep the nurse came in and woke Beckett. "Honey we're going to move you downstairs OK?"

"Sure."

"How are you feeling? Do you need some additional pain medication for the move?"

Despite the fact that sleeping through the next few days sounded good Kate said no that she was fine. The nurse began unhooking all the cords from the machines. She pulled down her gown and removed all the leads that had been placed on her chest. Noticing the bullet scar the nurse asked "This isn't your first trip here is it, Detective?"

"No."

"Those guards outside tell me this isn't over for you either is it?"

"No."

"Well you're in good hands here, so you relax and heal. My money's on you making a full recovery."

Kate smiled for the first time since she'd woken up. "Thanks"

Two guys from patient transport arrived with a gurney. They gently lifted Beckett from the bed and laid her on the gurney. The nurse made sure that all the cords and tubes made it with her. She covered her and asked if she was ready. Nodding Beckett closed her eyes as they pushed her down the hall and into the elevator.

Riding the elevator they descended two floors and they pushed her down the hall and into a corner room. As the gurney stopped she opened her eyes and immediately noticed that she had been given a private room. Castle she thought. Moving her to the bed hurt again. The nurse had followed and was soon joined by a second nurse.

"Miss Beckett, this is Julie she'll be your nurse for the rest of the day." They busied themselves hooking everything back up. Gone were the heart monitor and all the breathing machines. As they finished her father reappeared with a bouquet of flowers. The nurse from ICU left and Julie helped get her comfortable. Sitting up was more comfortable than lying down because it put less pressure on her back.

After the nurse left Kate asked about the room. "Did Castle arrange for this?"

"Oh, I don't know. They released him this afternoon and I think he ran home. He said he'd be back later, though."

"Dad, I'm not sure I want him to."

"Katie, I've never been one to butt into your love life. Well, not since the questionable ones in high school." That drew a small smile. "Do you love the man?"

"Dad that doesn't matter anymore."

"Why not?"

"Look at me. Dad no one would want to be saddled with all this." Kate pulled the sheet off revealing her useless legs.

Jim quickly stood and took both of her hands "Katherine Beckett, look at me." He took her chin in his hand to turn her face toward him. "Sweetheart, even if you never walk again you are more beautiful than 90% of the people in this world. That man will not care at all."

"How do you know that?"

"Because if it had happened to your Mother it wouldn't have changed how I felt about her. And that man looks at you the same way."

"No, he looked at me the same way. Dad even before this he had pulled away. I waited too long getting myself ready."

"No you didn't. Katie the man is still in love with you. He thinks that you don't feel the same way."

"Why would he think that?"

"Something about you lying to him about remembering the shooting." Kate's good hand flew to her mouth. "Do you love him?"

"Yes. More than anyone I've ever met." Jim nodded and smiled.

"Then let him make you happy. Kate you've been through more in your short life than anyone deserves. You've given more to your community than anyone should have to. Now maybe its time to give up Detective Beckett and go back to Kate Beckett."

"Dad I can't. They aren't going to let me. This time I did nothing. I've stayed away from the case since the shooting and still they killed Judge Markaway and came after Castle and I. Dad, I can't live my life until this is over. Until everyone I love is really safe. Do you understand?"

He did but it still scared him. Deep inside he always thought that Johanna's death would take Kate from him too. This time, though, she hadn't stepped back into it. They had brought the fight to her.

* * *

Later that evening Kate heard a faint knock at the door. Peeking around the corner Castle smiled when he saw that she was awake. Without saying a word he walked into the room to the bed and placed his lips on hers. He sensed a slight smile as his tongue rubbed against her lips. She placed her good hand on his cheek and melted into the kiss. Extremely grateful that the nurse had allowed her to brush her teeth this afternoon.

"Kate, I love you."

"I love you too." Caught off-guard by the suddenness of everything Kate spoke from her heart. Before her head got in the way. Suddenly the fact that she would very likely spend the rest of her life confined to a chair left her mind. The fact that her body was now so scarred that she was embarrassed of it, didn't matter. He loved her and she loved him and right now that was all that mattered.

He pulled the chair up to the bed and held tightly to her good hand. Kissing it often. "How are you Castle?" He lifted his shirt and showed the spot where the bar had come out.

"One just like it on my back. Doctors said that inside the bar passed right through without any damage at all."

"Wow."

"I know. I'm one lucky dude. I'm fine and you love me." The goofy smile on his face was that of a child on Christmas morning.

"Castle," after moments of bliss all the doubt began to seep back in. "Castle I might love you but that doesn't mean I'm right for you."

"Wait, what do you mean?" and the Christmas morning grin was wiped from his face.

"Castle my life is a little complicated right now."

"Exactly and I'm here with you through it all."

"You don't want to be stuck with this." Kate touched her legs.

"Kate I want nothing more than to be stuck with this. Kate this," he took her face in his hands "is all I've wanted for years." Placing another kiss on her lips. She joined him but soon he felt tears on her cheeks and pulled back.

"I'm sorry. Castle I can't do this. This isn't right to you. You fell in love with who I was, not who I am now." Castle knew what she was doing. Something she'd done so many times before. This time he wasn't going to allow it to happen. Now that he knew that she loved him, he was going to fight for her. Nothing would stand in his way.

"Kate have you survived a bullet to the heart?" He waited but she didn't respond. "Did you survive begin locked in a freezer?" He waited again and still no response. "Did you survive being blown up, twice now?" He waited this time something.

"I only survived the first bomb because of you."

"And I survived the second one because of you. Kate you sacrificed yourself to make sure I made it out alive. To make sure that I made it back to Alexis." He stopped. "Kate I know that you don't like needing people. But I need you like I've never needed anyone in my life. I just wish you would allow yourself to need me. I will be there Kate ever step of the way. For the good days and the bad days. I will be there when you start to wiggle your toes again and I will be there if you spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. I will be there, Kate. Will you?"

"Castle you don't want someone who needs so much." Tears continued but Castle could see from her eyes that he was getting to her.

"Kate that's where you are so wrong. I've been married twice and each time they didn't need me. They needed the money and the fame, but not me. Kate I love that you need me. Because we need each other." He waited, not sure what else to say. Praying that laying his heart out had gotten to her.

She played with the sheet for a minute before speaking. "Castle I'm not giving up the case and that may put you and Alexis in danger."

"I'll send Alexis somewhere safe and we'll fight them together. Kate if you weren't going to fight then I'd be worried."

"Castle are you sure?"

"Kate more sure of us than of anything in my life." She sighed and this time leaned to kiss him.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The next morning Kate felt much better. Better about herself and better about her future. No matter what the final diagnosis Castle would be there. He'd gotten a call from Alexis mad that he wasn't resting so Kate sent him home to spend time with her. Alone that night she slept and dreamed of a future that didn't include snipers or bombs or wheelchairs.

As the morning dawned and the hospital came to life rehabilitation began for Beckett. A physical therapist visited, an occupational therapist, and three others with some form of therapist all came to introduce themselves before lunch. By lunch when Castle and the boys arrived she was already exhausted and sore.

"So Beckett we've got some leads." Castle had told her about Gates change of heart and her new willingness to look into the case.

"Castle told me about the military connections and about Halstead." Beckett wanted to sound like she was still herself.

Ryan and Esposito smiled at each other. "But he didn't get to tell you the greatest part. Do you want to tell her?" Esposito offered Ryan.

"Oh no, you go ahead."

Smiling Esposito began "OK we looked into all the guys in that unit. We've got Coonan, Jeremy Locke, AKA Hal Lockwood, and we have Marty Halstead the son of one Fire Investigator that you know. We also have William McDonnell the son of one Senator Vick McDonnell."

"The Senate majority leader?" Castle hadn't heard any of this information.

"One in the same."

Ryan's turn "And guess what Mr. William McDonnell is doing now."

Castle smiled, "Running for New York governor."

"Exactly."

Beckett and Esposito looked at each other realizing that Ryan and Castle apparently knew something that they didn't. Castle breathed deep. "The last time that Smith contacted me I told you it was during the investigation involving the Mayor. At the time Smith thought it might be aimed toward the Mayor as a way of getting rid of me. After the case the Mayor and I talked. He said it was aimed at him. He had just begun looking into a run for governor. A high profile successful mayor had a really good shot at the governor's mansion. With him out of the way the Senator's son becomes the favorite."

"So are looking at Senator McDonnell as the mastermind behind this?"

"It's certainly looking that way." Ryan seemed sure.

"Montgomery said he was big. And had hands in everything. This guy has connections in the military, local police departments. He was a local DA before moving home to Kentucky to run for Senate." Esposito added.

"How did he get onto Raglan, McCallister and Montgomery in the first place?"

"That we don't know."

Castle's mind was already flooded with theories. "As a DA maybe he frequented cop bars to celebrate victories. Maybe he heard them talking in the courthouse. Maybe he saw something?"

"What about Smith? We still don't know how they got onto him or why Montgomery chose to send the stuff to him. Hell, we still don't know if he was involved. I don't even know what the guy looked like."

"No problem. Beckett here's a picture from his driver's license." Beckett took the New York drivers license of one James Smith.

"This is James Smith? The man that contacted you about protecting me?" Castle leaned over and looked at the picture and nodded.

"This man was one of my physical therapists at the hospital after the shooting. His name was Alexander Zubarev. I remember him because we spoke Russian together. He was American but his Russian was flawless. He said his parents had been Russian and it was all that they had spoken at home."

Esposito looked to Ryan "Lets run it."

As they were about to leave Ryan turned back. "Oh Beckett its good to see you back. I thought we'd lost you this time. You've got to quit doing this to us."

"Let's nail them and it'll all be over for us all." Esposito and Ryan both nodded in agreement as they left.

"Until then the guards stay outside your loft and you and Alexis don't go anywhere without protection."

"I'm way ahead of you. I already hired two bodyguards for Alexis and they start tonight."

"And for you?"

"I'm with you what more protection do I need." He smiled as he leaned over to kiss her. Sliding his hand under her pillow and pulling her gun from under it.

She smiled sheepishly. "I sleep better with it there."

"I don't blame you."

A knock at the door broke their moment. Another therapist was there to work with her. They were going to work on getting into and out of her wheelchair. She shooed Castle away. "Go home and get some rest."

"I'll be back later with some dinner. How about Chinese?"

"Sounds good." He kissed her goodbye.

* * *

After an hour with the therapist Beckett had gotten pretty good at lowering herself into the wheelchair and getting herself back up and into a chair. She'd been leaned over putting her feet onto the rests of the chair when Alexis walked by. The young woman had been looking for her father and when she couldn't find him figured Kate was a good place to check.

She hadn't seen Detective Beckett since before the explosion. Anger originally, and then both embarrassment over how she'd blamed her and disbelief that the Detective thought enough of her to make sure that her father made it out had kept her away. Now standing in the doorway she could see Kate's huge wound down her back. Kate was still forced to wear a hospital gown, which was constantly opening in the back. In her concentration to get into the chair all by herself she hadn't thought about the open back. Leaning over to position her legs had given Alexis a perfect view.

Situated in the chair Beckett unlocked it and spun around. Seeing Alexis she smiled "Oh sorry I didn't realize you were there. Come on in." Alexis did and closed the door behind her.

"Look Detective Beckett…"

"You can just call me Kate. It doesn't look like I'll be Detective Beckett for a while. Were you looking for your Dad?"

"Yes."

"He left about an hour ago."

Alexis stood "Oh well he's probably home by now." Embarrassed she stood to go and opened the door. In the hall there was a commotion.

"Alexis shut the door." She quickly responded to Beckett's command. Beckett saw through the window that both of the guards from outside her door had gone running down the hall.

"Alexis you need to hide." Beckett rolled over to the armoire. "Grab that chair and climb up in there." Alexis quickly responded. Within seconds she was in behind the small flat screen TV. "No matter what you stay in there OK." Alexis nodded. Kate could tell the young woman was terrified. Kate closed the door and was on her way back to the bed when the door to her room burst open.

"Detective Katherine Beckett it is so good to finally meet you. Are you enjoying the room I set up for you. My wife is on the board of trustees here and its amazing what one well placed phone call can do. Did you know that you are the only patient on this hall? Funny how all the other rooms needed some upgrades at the same time. Well enough chitchat, it's now time for you to take a little trip with us. Marco take care of things." The Senator left and one of the large men he'd brought with him produced a syringe and quickly subdued Beckett. Another man dressed in a patient transport uniform wheeled a gurney in. They lifted Beckett onto it and covered her with a sheet. An oxygen mask was placed over her face. They wheeled her out, down to the elevator and outside into a waiting private ambulance. Pulling out of the parking lot no one had even noticed them leaving. No one knew that Beckett was gone but the young redhead still hiding in the room.

She waited and waited. Not wanting the light from her phone to give her away she didn't place the call until fifteen minutes had passed. Climbing out she saw the two policemen returning. "Where have you been? The took Detective Beckett."

Radios were quickly active and within minutes the full force of the NYPD had descended on the hospital. Security guards were going over every camera angle they could get but they found that someone had switched off all the cameras that would have caught them.

Ryan and Esposito quickly expanded the search to other nearby buildings. Thankfully a bank next door had an ATM camera that caught the ambulance bay. There were three that left during the period of time for Kate's abduction. Two of them were legitimate ones that they were able to reach. The third, a private ambulance didn't answer any radio calls. They followed it the best they could using the thousands of cameras that now flooded New York City Streets.

Five minutes after leaving the hospital the ambulance could be seen pulling into an underground parking garage. Three and a half minutes later a series of four identical Lincoln town cars left that same garage all four heading in different directions.

Smacking his hand down on the desk Castle closed his eyes. "So what now?"

"We put four teams on running down these cars. But it's going to take some time."

"Time that Beckett doesn't have."

* * *

Alexis had left the hospital with the team and had been sitting in the corner of the room watching the developments. "Dad I know this won't help in finding her, but I recorded what the man said." She stood and handed Castle her phone.

"Alexis you're a genius." Castle took the phone from the girl. Ryan was already setting up the computer to run the voice recognition. There was no way he was taking a chance and letting the lab run this.

Within seconds of hearing it all three knew who was on the tape. Senator McDonnell had a very distinct voice and accent. Ryan's voice matching software confirmed what their ears already knew.

"This is great but we still don't know where they took Beckett." Ryan was getting nervous for Beckett's safety.

Back at the board Castle was going over the players that were still out there. "OK so the Senator is cleaning up. Taking out Smith and Beckett remove the last two threats. So other than Beckett and Smith who was out there that could hurt him. Pulgatti's in prison and out of the way. Coonan the original assassin is gone. Raglan, McCallister, and Montgomery are dead. Lockwood or Locke is dead. We still don't know who the sniper was and we've got Halstead. We don't know how deep he's in.

Gates had been standing at the door listening. "Then find out how deep he's in it." They all turned. "Beckett needs you all now. She's not here to lead so its time to step up."

The two detectives quickly moved into their assignments. Ryan looked into Halstead's past while Esposito looked into his son.

"OK here's something. Halstead's son lost it in Iraq. He was given a medical discharge and has spent the past six years in a psychiatric unit in a private hospital in upstate New York."

Castle immediately wondered "so how does a fireman afford that for his son?" Esposito was already thinking the same thing. Being former military he knew that VA benefits were good but they wouldn't have been enough to pay for a nice place like this.

After thirty minutes on the phone all he was able to gather was that the funds for his care were coming from a private trust fund.

"Bingo!" Ryan jumped up and knocked a huge stack of papers off his desk. "I know who the sniper was. Halstead himself was a sharp shooter in the military and police and fire personnel have their DNA on file to eliminate first responders DNA from that found at a crime scene. His DNA matches the sample pulled from the rifle. When we ran it initially all those on file with the police and fire department were excluded since so many people were there.

"OK lets locate him."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The black town car pulled into the alley and a large man pulled a woman clad in a hospital gown from the rear seat. Carrying her into the delivery entrance they disappeared. Minutes later the man returned and drove the car back out of the alley.

In front of the building another black town car arrived about ten minutes later. A well-dressed gentleman exited the car and headed into the building. This car drove down the street and parked, waiting. The building was an ordinary apartment building. Nothing special and very nondescript. Inside the man took the stairs to the fifth floor. Walking down the corridor to apartment 511 he knocked. The door opened and the man stepped inside.

"What are you thinking bringing her here?" Halstead the apartment owner had been beside himself with worry since the large man had knocked and dumped the drugged detective on his couch and left.

"Calm down. This is almost over and we'll all be free of this unfortunate business."

"So what do we do now?"

"Well as I see it there are really only two loose ends left. The tragic Detective Beckett…and you."

"Wait what, me?"

The well-dressed gentleman pulled a gun from inside his wool coat. Halstead backed away. "After everything I've done. After everything my son did for yours."

"I'm very sorry. Both you and your son have done well. Now its time for you to do one more thing for me. I really need all this business closed. Making you the only one left as the fall guy. Cops already have their suspicions about that warehouse fire. This will give everyone closure."

A moan from the couch alerted him that the Detective was regaining consciousness. He walked over to the couch and pulled hair back from Beckett's face. "It really is such a shame. She is a very beautiful woman. Well no matter. Its time for you to kill her."

"Wait no I already did that once for you."

The man's eyes flashed with anger. "And as you can see you clearly failed. Now I'm going to clean up your mess." He stepped back across the room and fired one shot into Beckett's chest. Snapped into consciousness by the impact her eyes were wide as her hand immediately went to her chest. Pulling her hand away she saw the blood.

Tears began to fall. Not tears of pain tears of regret. _Not this way_. _After everything, to die without her gun or her badge. To die without a fight. This wasn't right_. Then the pain began. It spread like before burning through her chest and this time all the way across to her left shoulder.

After watching blood spread across the hospital gown she was still wearing the well-dressed man began knocking over things in the man's apartment. Moments later he turned back to her. Her eyes had closed and blood trailed from the center of her chest and was now dripping from around her shoulder onto the couch.

Turning to Halstead, he pulled another handgun from his coat and fired one shot hitting the man in the chest. Reaching down he placed the gun in Beckett's bloody hand and fired two other shots. He pulled Beckett onto the floor in front of the couch. Using his foot he crushed the coffee table between the chair were Halstead lay and the couch. Hearing police sirens in the distance he dropped the gun near Halstead straightened his scarf and walked out the door.

It was early evening but there was no one in the hallway. Outside he found the car waiting and they turned onto the cross street as he saw police cars approaching from the opposite direction. Twenty-five minutes later the car pulled up in front of the Lincoln Center. Walking in he quickly found his wife and they took their seats to watch their daughter play her first concert with the New York Philharmonic.

* * *

One block away the police cars turned off their sirens. Quickly police cars surrounded the nondescript apartment building. Lead by Detectives Ryan and Esposito and Captain Victoria Gates the team climbed the stairs to the fifth floor. Gates had forced Castle to wait at the precinct. At the door to apartment 511 they paused identified themselves and breached the door.

The mess of a struggle was the first thing they noticed. The man lying back across the chair was the next thing. Only upon entering and clearing the other two rooms did Esposito see Detective Beckett laying face down on the floor. Rushing to her he felt for a pulse. "Get the EMT's in here quick. She's still alive!"

Pushing the couch back Gates helped Ryan roll Beckett over. As they did she stirred. "Detective you stay with us. We aren't going to lose you now." Those words coming from Gates surprised even the injured Beckett. The EMT's arrived and quickly got her onto a backboard and loaded into the ambulance waiting outside.

As the ambulance pulled off Beckett pulled the oxygen mask from her face. "Senator McDonnell."

"We know. Gates and Ryan are on their way to arrest him now. You just hang on. Castle is going to meet us at the hospital." Looking down at her battered body Javier Esposito had no idea how she was still alive. It certainly looked as though the bullet had hit her square in the chest just like last time.


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry it took so long….

**Chapter 16**

He was standing by the emergency room doors when the ambulance pulled up. She was pale again but at least she was conscious. Grabbing her hand he began speaking to her as her eyes locked on his. "You hold on Kate. I love you. You hold on."

"Sir you're going to have to step back we need help her."

"Sorry. Yes." Castle released her hand and allowed them to take her. Esposito walked through the doors moments later. "Espo, what happened?"

"They shot her again. Man we were too late. She was bleeding so much." He looked down at his hands still covered in her blood. "It hit her square in the chest again." Javier was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He sat down hard in one of the waiting room chairs and Castle sat beside him.

"Detective?" A man in scrubs, covered in blood, approached.

"Yes" Esposito and Castle stood up.

"That is one lucky woman. We've taken her to surgery. She's lost a lot of blood, but I believe she will be just fine."

"Wait what do you mean? The bullet hit her in the chest."

"It did. In the exact spot she'd been shot before. The initial gunshot did so much damage to the bones that the surgeon was forced to put in a titanium plate to bridge the area that was shattered by the bullet. Today's shot hit the titanium plate and was redirected. It came out right under her arm and looks like it did minimal damage. Again, she's one lucky woman. I've go to get up to surgery."

"Thank you Doctor." Esposito watched him go before turning to Castle. They both just smiled. "Two gunshots to the chest. Man I hope you know what you're getting yourself into to."

"What do you mean?"

"Castle, I saw you talking to her. I heard you say 'I love you.' And I have to say its about damn time." He slapped Castle on the back as they walked up to the surgery waiting room.

* * *

The car pulled up to the curb and Castle jumped out and ran around. Reaching into the back seat he lifted Kate from the car. Turning around the driver had her wheelchair waiting. Setting her down gently she kissed him. Juan the doorman had the door open, waiting."Good to see you Detective, Mr. Castle."

Inside Kate quickly noticed the loft was empty. "Where are Alexis and Martha?"

"They decided to give us a little space this weekend and Alexis needed to go and visit the campus again. Mom has a friend whose husband is a professor there so they are spending the weekend with them. Checking out the campus and stuff."

"Shouldn't you be there with them?"

"And miss bringing you home? Nope this is where I belong." Kate smiled.

"OK so we've made a few changes." He wheeled her into his office and she immediately saw the ramp that had been installed over the small step leading to his bedroom.

"Castle you said one of the guest rooms."

"I know but I decided that I wasn't going to spend another night without you in my arms. Plus there is no way for you to get up there by yourself and its too high for a ramp." Not waiting for any more disagreement he pushed her up the ramp into his bedroom. "Welcome to the bedroom. To our bedroom."

She started to object but remembered the conversation they'd had when she'd been in the rehab facility. The doctors had agreed that she had made significant progress and could go home. The only problem was with the still limited use of her arm, from the broken wrist and the exit wound, she couldn't go home without help. It had taken a lot of talking on Castle's part but she eventually agreed to let him take her to his loft while she recovered. Still thankful that he wanted to have anything to do with someone as broken as her she swallowed the objection and smiled instead.

"OK the physical therapist suggested that you keep up with the afternoon nap. Especially as hard as he's been working you the last couple of days." Kate was exhausted and shook her head in agreement. Castle wheeled her to the bed and pulled back the sheets. Gently lifting her he laid her down and tucked the sheets around her. As he did he noticed her foot moving under the sheet. Pulling the sheet back he startled Beckett.

"Castle what the hell?"

"Kate your foot moved!"

She struggled to pull up a little to see for herself. Watching, her foot was moving. "Castle, sorry its just spasms." The look of elation slowly washed away from his face. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. "They've been doing it for a couple of days."

"Maybe it means things are healing?"

"Castle please don't get your hopes up. The spasms aren't a sign of healing. They're just the nerves sending the wrong signals. The doctor said that some people continue to have them forever, but never have any real healing. Others have them for a while then the signals stop all together." Castle noticed the tears forming in her eyes.

"Kate" he took her chin in his hand so that she'd look at him. "We have to have hope. Hope is what will keep you fighting. While I would be fine with carrying you to bed every night, helping you dress, and bathe." A sly smile broke out on his face as he knew that he would be in heaven being able to touch and hold her like that. The smile left as he continued. "Kate you on the other hand won't be truly happy again until you can walk. I might wish that I was enough, but Kate I know you. Look at how hard and how fast you fought back after the first shooting."

"Castle, last time I knew that with enough work it would get better. This time there's no way of knowing."

"That's exactly where hope and faith come in."

"I've never had much faith in anything other than myself."

"That's all you really need. Have faith in your body and your will to stand again. Then you fight this one day at a time."

She began to smile knowing that he was right. "You really do have a way with words don't you?"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Castle worked daily to maintain her hope. This was no easy task. There was some form of rehab appointment almost daily. Right now she was under the care of a physiatrist who led a team including a physical therapist, occupational therapist, recreational therapist, a nutritionist, and a psychologist.

At the individual appointments Beckett often pushed too hard and came home in pain. While she would never mention it Castle always knew. They worked on maintaining her muscle tone in her upper and lower body in hopes that one day feeling would begin to return. Despite the workouts and the nutritionist Castle soon noticed that she was losing weight. She put on a happy face but Castle saw the dark circles under her eyes. Depression and pain were a lethal combination for the Detective.

She tried, she really tried to be like Castle. But in her mind if she always expected the worst she'd never be disappointed. The problem since the explosion, is aside from Castle, her life no longer gave her anything but the worst. Without her job there were no wins. Rehabilitation had given her no noticeable improvement.

After six weeks her new gunshot wounds had healed enough that she could fully use her arms. While this made a lot of things much easier it really didn't change anything. Of course she could now get herself into and out of the wheelchair by herself. She could go to the bathroom by herself, which was a big relief. Kate realized though that this was the rest of her life. Without regaining feeling in her legs this was as good as it was ever going to get.

Noticing the signs, her doctors all suggested that she get back to work. They all wrote recommendations for her to return to desk duty. In the meeting both men saw the first smile from Detective Beckett since they had been treating her.

* * *

Her appointment had been on Friday and on Monday morning she waited nervously as the elevator opened at the 12th precinct. She wheeled herself out of the elevator and a round of applause soon erupted from the bullpen. Smiles and nods from both Ryan and Esposito reassured her that she still belonged. She shook hands and received hugs and as she made her way to her desk she noticed Gates leaning against her office door.

"Beckett my office!" Captain Gates had heard the commotion and emerged from her office not to celebrate her return but to issue orders.

"Well good to see some things haven't changed." Beckett made her way to Gate's office. As she entered and turned to close the door Gates began.

"Well I've gotten clearance from the psychologist that you've been cleared for desk duty. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"OK here are the ground rules. You'll remain here at the precinct and not at any crime scenes. You will not be reissued your service weapon unless the point arrives where you pass the fitness test again. Are those rules understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ok good to have you back." Beckett wheeled herself back out and rejoined her team.

"So did you get yelled at already?" Ryan was always worried about Gates.

"No, she just set the ground rules for this new situation. I'm not allowed at crime scenes so you guys will have to take lots of photographs."

"You got it. OK well if you're back lets jump right back in." Esposito and Ryan filled her in on the newest case they had. Within hours Beckett had already proved an integral part of their team. Calling a few assets she had gotten information on some merchandise someone was trying to move. The merchandise proved to be the jewelry stolen from the victim.

Smiles all around when Ryan and Esposito brought the suspect in and he quickly rolled over on his partner, the man who'd actually pulled the trigger. With the murderer and accomplice in custody Kate called Castle and waved goodbye. She refused to let everyone see that she still needed him to pick her up so she waited downstairs in the parking garage.

Once he pulled in she quickly opened the door and maneuvered herself into the car while he put the chair in the trunk. Castle missed the days that he had gotten to pick her up and place her in the seat but he noticed something in her eyes tonight that he hadn't seen in some time.

"How was your first day back?"

"Good."

"Just good?"

"We closed a case."

"That used to be more than just good."

"It was more than good. It felt good to be something more than a burden." Her choice of words were telling. He'd known for some time that Kate was feeling depressed. He really couldn't blame her. Going from a self-sufficient police detective to someone reliant on someone to do the simplest tasks was a huge blow.

She saw the impact of her words on him and tried make it sound better. "I know it's going to take time to get back into things. And its going to take time to get used to always being on the back lines."

"Kate it won't be like this forever. You're going to walk again." She turned and looked out the window. Sometimes she hated it when he was so positive but she couldn't imagine her life without him. Not turning from the window she reached out and took his hand.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Work had been exactly what Beckett needed to make her feel more like herself. Castle had given her the first week to get back into the swing of things before he'd shown up for a case. Now he'd let the guys to go to the crime scene and gather all the information. Then Kate would call if it looked like an interesting one and he'd drop by.

He loved watching Kate work. Even confined to a wheelchair her mind worked in the same miraculous ways. He often sat back and watched her tap the dry erase marker on her chin as she thought. Somehow staring at the board she managed to make connections that the others didn't see. The current case however had even her grasping for straws and throwing out wild theories involving ninjas.

This case was a rough one it involved the grizzly deaths of four men. Each of the men were found in an alley near where they lived or worked with their spinal cords cut near the base of their skulls. According to Lanie the killer had incapacitated the men instantly.

The victims' lives themselves were no help. Other than the fact that they were all of Middle Eastern descent there was no apparent connection.

Beckett had taken the lead with the families. While she'd always been good at breaking through their grief and shock, her new situation allowed her to disarm and relate people even quicker.

After the first victim the team had taken the usual path of looking into his life. Within 24 hours they had the second murder and they switched to looking for connections. Another 24 hours and another victim. After four days and four victims they had discovered nothing other than they victims were related by nothing but ethnicity.

The final coroner's report on the victims found that the perpetrator likely had some form of training. The knife was precisely placed in each victim. This correlated with what the detectives had found. Each man was killed in an alley with no cameras and there were never any witnesses. The killer had done his or her homework. With victims coming so quick it seemed as though all of the victims had been scouted beforehand.

After the first two victims September 11th and revenge was mentioned more than once. But with nearly 3,000 killed the pool of potential suspects was far too big. They needed some direction, some kind of break.

With so little to go on the team had started going over surveillance feeds for all the cameras closest the scenes. Some of the videos were from more than a block away but they were just hoping to catch a break. Maybe they'd get lucky and catch the victim with someone following them. After six hours of watching videos they'd yet to see anything helpful.

Kate sent Castle home to get some sleep and spend some time with Alexis, since she was starting college in a couple weeks. The calls for each of the murders had come in the early morning hours so she knew that he hadn't slept much. She said she'd just take the subway home when she was finished. Castle looked at her and wanted to object but he knew that she needed to do some things on her own.

Several weeks ago when she had suggested getting to work on her own Castle had made her practice taking the subway for an entire weekend before he turned her loose. Since then she'd gotten to work on her own every day, unless they were working an active case that Castle was assisting on. So tonight really wasn't a big deal.

Ryan and Esposito left about 9:00 and Beckett was still hard at work. She assured them she would be fine taking the subway.

At 11:00 Castle had called and asked how much longer she'd be. She still had two cameras to check for the third murder and then she'd been on her way. Hanging up Castle worried. He knew that she hadn't eaten dinner and they'd just grabbed a coffee for lunch. He also knew that she'd blown off her physical therapy appointments for the last two days and hadn't slept more than three or four hours any of the last three nights.

Lately he was caught in a strange place. He wanted to make sure that she took care of herself by always pushing and reminding her of things, like eating and sleeping. But he knew that she'd been doing better accepting everything when he backed off and let Beckett be Beckett. She was a strong woman, the strongest he'd ever known, and he needed to just sit back a trust her. With this settled in his mind he turned off the lights and went to bed.

* * *

Terror of unimaginable proportions filled his body when he turned over and looked at the clock. It was after four o'clock in the morning and Kate's side of the bed was still empty. He walked out into his office and the family room to make sure she hadn't fallen asleep on the couch. The lights were all still off and Kate wasn't there.

Back in his room he picked up the phone and dialed her number. After six rings her voicemail picked up. Laying the phone down he pulled on some jeans and grabbed his keys. Trying not to panic Castle thought of all the things she could be doing that didn't involve her laying in an alley somewhere.

The drive to the precinct took only a little over fifteen minutes at that time of morning. He said hi to the officer manning the desk and asked if he'd seen Beckett. The officer hadn't, and he'd been there since 10:00 that evening and had seen Esposito and Ryan leave. Climbing into the elevator there was hope that she was still sitting at her desk working.

As the doors opened he looked across the dark bullpen and saw the light on at her desk breathing a sign of relief he walked over to her desk. There he found her slumped over fast asleep.

As quietly as he could Castle left. Knowing that she was safe was all that really mattered. Even before the explosion this was part of who she was. The dark circles under her eyes and the weight loss were no longer a result of her injury. They were now back to being the result of her job. A job that meant the world to her and Castle hoped would some day drive her to stand again.

* * *

Unaware of anything after she laid her head down at 1:30. Beckett jumped up when a phone rang somewhere across the room. Looking at her watch she cringed realizing that it was after 6:00. Reaching in the pocket of the jacket, hanging on the back of her chair, she quickly grabbed her phone. Dialing Castle's number she hated that she was going to wake him but knew that he'd called and had to be worried.

"Hello."

"Castle, I'm so sorry. I fell asleep at my desk and I missed your call. I'm sorry."

"Kate. It's OK. I figured that was what had happened." He knew no one had seen him during his over night visit but the one officer and he'd already talked to him about not mentioning it. Kate needed to feel self-sufficient again and in some ways he knew he was the one holding her back.

"Is there another body?"

Kate thought a moment realizing that they'd gotten each of the calls before 6:00 in the morning. "No, no call yet. But that doesn't mean there isn't one. The others were all discovered by early morning deliveries or someone taking out the trash. It may just be that no one has discovered it yet. But we can hope." Castle smiled on his end of the phone. He didn't think he'd heard Kate talk about hope ever and certainly not since the explosion. Maybe he was making progress.

"Well its almost time to be back in anyway so I'll just stay and work on some more of these videos. Have fun with Alexis and I'll see you later, hopefully."

"You'll be home when you're home. I've got a date to do some shopping for her dorm so I'll be out most of the afternoon, but I'll have my phone if you need me. See you tonight."

He started to add make sure you eat something but he really was ready to back off and let her find her way. So he just settled for "Love you."

She returned the "Love you." And they hung up. She turned back to video on her computer screen and Castle went back to sleep.

Thirty minutes later Ryan and Esposito showed up. They noted to each other that Beckett was wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday. They all knew that she was living with Castle so a secret overnight visit wasn't the reason. Knowing her, they both suspected she'd been there all night.

"Yo Beckett, you go home at all." Esposito asked as he hung his jacket on his chair.

"No I fell asleep here." She didn't even look up from the computer screen as she answered.

"Bet Castle freaked over that." Ryan knew that Castle had been very protective lately. Not that he blamed him.

"Actually he only called once and said he figured I'd fallen asleep here. I guess he's seen us do it enough to be used to it."

"Well did all that overtime pay off?" Ryan was already looking at the board where Beckett had made only a few changes over night.

"Unfortunately, no." Beckett headed into the break room to get her second cup of coffee.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Overnight Beckett had made no real progress. She'd only ruled out several videos as containing anything useful. After the third cup of coffee and hearing her stomach growl she wished that Castle had been coming in today and would bring her some breakfast. In all honesty she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten.

As if the gods were granting her request the elevator dinged and Castle and Alexis emerged. Castle was carrying a tray of coffee cups while Alexis had a box of donuts.

Smiling from ear to ear Castle approached the team. "Figured if I wasn't going to be of any help today the least I could do was energize you." Sitting the things on the desk Ryan and Esposito quickly dug in.

Castle walked by and gently squeezed Kate's hand. "Well we'll let you guys get back to work. We have a dorm room to outfit. And my credit card is ready."

After the elevator closed Kate joined the guys in eating the bakery goods Castle had brought. Finding the cup with her name on it she smiled as the liquid warmed her body and fueled her spirit.

With a full stomach and heart Beckett turned her attention back to the videos. Castle's surprise fueled the team for the next four hours of mind-numbing video watching.

By two in the afternoon the sugar bliss had worn off and they still had nothing. Ryan ordered pizza as they pulled the last video up on the large screen in the conference room. They decided to watch the last one together while they waited for the delivery guy.

Twenty minutes of watching videos and the pizza arrived. The guys dove in but Kate's eyes were fixed on the screen. Pulling her chair closer to the screen she stopped. "Ryan back that up a little." He grabbed the remote. "There." Watching the screen a guy in black pants and a hoodie walked around the corner past the camera.

"Beckett what's so special about that guy?" Esposito wasn't sure what she'd seen.

"Now go back about five minutes." Ryan took the video back six minutes.

"Now watch." Beckett's eyes hadn't left the screen. Sure enough four minutes and 36 seconds earlier the same guy walked around the corner and up the street past the camera. "It's the same guy." They watched it several more times before Beckett spoke again "Wait rewind and watch his hand." As they watched all three could see that as the man walked back in the direction that he'd come the man slid something into the left cargo pocket of his pants.

Esposito sat down his plate. "Anyone else think that looked like a knife?"

"Certainly could be." Ryan was looking at Beckett. This was something but certainly not enough to go on.

"OK so here's the thing. Put in this tape and take it to.." She stopped looking back at her notes. "3:37am." As Ryan fast forwarded it to the point Beckett sat quietly. Not wanting to taint them she let them watch and draw their own conclusions. Watching the tape they both turned to her and smiled.

"Its the same guy." Ryan smiled but Beckett still didn't speak. They watched five more minutes before Ryan paused the screen as the same figure returned. Esposito added "I'll be damn. Beckett how do you do this shit?"

"The hoodie. It might shield their identity but it always drawn attention. The best part is yet to come. Let it play on." The two men watched as the hooded figure turned and opened a door and walked in. They watched waiting and sure enough he emerged twenty minutes later with a pizza box.

Grabbing a slice of pizza the guys took off assuring they'd call and let her hear the conversation with the employees. Sitting in the empty, silent conference room Kate longed to be heading out with them. Looking down tears filled her eyes as she hit herself hard on the thigh, and still felt nothing. With her back to the door she didn't see Gates as she stopped outside watching.

The Captain knew how hard the last few months had been on the Detective. When she'd first arrived at the precinct she had a preconceived notion about Detective Kate Beckett. She had been a little angry that the woman had broken her own record for youngest female to make detective and that anger carried into their interactions and Gates' treatment of the Detective and her team.

Seeing her in action Gates now knew that she was one of the best Detectives she had ever worked with and that she deserved the record. In addition, she'd seen the woman's personal character and strength in dealing with her shootings and the bombing that had left her confined to a wheelchair. The Captain hoped that given the same situation she would have been that strong.

Hearing the door open behind her Beckett quickly wiped her eyes and spun around to see Gates standing in the doorway. "I saw Ryan and Esposito on their way out. Good work Beckett not everyone would have caught that. Keep me updated on the case." As Gates left Beckett sat for a few moments, still getting used to Gates not always yelling at her, before finally picking up a slice of pizza.

Before she finished it her phone rang. Ryan's voice greeted her on the other end. "Alright Beckett you are on speakerphone. We've got the manager Michael here and Justin the employee working overnight on Friday."

Beckett listened as Esposito showed them the video on his phone. Justin remembered the man because of the hoodie and at that time of night they rarely had carryout orders. Most people were too drunk or tired by that time of night to venture out for a pizza. The guy remembered that he was white and he'd paid with cash. He was just normal looking but the young man did remember a tattoo. Apparently the guy had "Semper Fi" in a really cool script tattooed on the inside of his right arm just below his watch. Justin also remembered that the man had a really cool dive watch that looked really expensive. After getting everything they could they asked him to come down to work with a sketch artist. The manager urged him to go right now. He added that cops were some of his best customers.

Back at the precinct they had a sketch within the hour. Esposito used his military connections to narrow down the list of possible suspects. The tattoo was common with several units. One of which was from the NYC area and was currently home from a deployment. Pulling up the photos of the unit they all immediately recognized one face, Robert Baker. The young man and the sketch artist had done a remarkable job with the sketch.

"That's got to be him. Ryan can you pull up his service records and Esposito can you find out a current address?"

As Ryan pulled up the service record, which Beckett read over his shoulder, things began to make sense. The unit had returned from Afghanistan six weeks ago with four less members than they'd gone to war with. An incident report revealed that while on patrol a man carrying what looked like an injured boy had approached the convoy and blown himself up. Baker and one other soldier, Ronald Hockett, had been lookouts. Their Humvee had passed with no problem then as they turned the corner they heard the blast. Circling around when they returned the next truck was a smoldering mess. All four guys were dead.

"OK guys I've got an address." Esposito held up a sheet of paper.

"Man guy's got some baggage. We may want to take some extra help." Ryan had been leery about going off on their own since Beckett and Esposito had gotten into hot water for going in without waiting for backup.

"You go talk to Gates." Esposito was still a little sore about Ryan's fears towards the Captain. Ryan stood and headed to her office.

"He may be right with this one." Beckett feared that this guy might be more than the two could handle alone. "Espo, this guy has some serious baggage he was lookout when four of his squad were killed. He's probably dealing with PTSD and who knows what else." Ryan was already on his way out.

"They'll be waiting downstairs in 10."

"You all call as soon as it's over. Let me know how it went."


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm so sorry. I wrote the rest of the story a while back and thought I posted it. I write in another program and then just copy it to the site. I forgot to ever copy it.**

**Chapter 20**

Beckett tried to concentrate on Baker's file but she found herself glancing at her phone to see how long it had been. The address was at least fifteen minutes away. It'd been over an hour, so with suit up time and drive time they should be calling any moment. If everything went well. As if on cue her phone rang. Unfortunately it was Castle and not one of the boys.

"Castle I'll give you a call back in a little while. The guys went out to pick someone up and I'm waiting for their call."

"OK no problem sounds like you're making progress." Castle knew that she was anxious waiting there for their call. He could hear it in her voice.

"Yes. Talk to you later."

As she laid it down it rang again. This time it was the call she'd been waiting for. "Espo, how'd it go."

"Piece of cake. The guy was watching TV, opened the door and came without a fight. We're bringing him back now. You ready?"

"As soon as you get here."

"I'm on my way. Ryan stayed back looking for evidence. It was a two bedroom apartment. He said he lives with a Ronald Hockett. Ryan said he was from his squad."

"Yes I remember the name. We'll try to find out where he is."

Twenty-five minutes later Esposito lead the handcuffed man through the bullpen to the interrogation room. The man wasn't tall, he was quite average in stature, but wearing a white t-shirt Beckett could see that he was very strong. He definitely had the strength to have committed the murders.

Esposito came back out to where Beckett was waiting. "He hasn't said a word since we left. He's restrained. Do you want me to go in too." Esposito, as former military, knew what this man was capable of. He knew Beckett could take care of herself, but he still worried.

"No, I've got this. We may need you to be good cop later and use the military connection." Esposito nodded as she entered the room and the door closed.

As she entered he watched her wheel herself up to the other side of the table. She saw his eyes soften. Internally she smiled knowing that there was some humanity still within him and perhaps that was something she could use.

As Beckett went in to the interrogation room, Captain Gates came out of her office. "Esposito did you all get Baker."

"Yes, Sir Beckett is in with him now. Ryan's with the crime scene unit looking for evidence."

"I'm on my way downtown for a meeting but keep me updated." She turned and walked toward the elevator.

Esposito turned and was about to enter the viewing room when he heard someone ask where Robert Baker was. As he turned he saw a man holding Captain Gates with a strange looking knife to her throat. Esposito drew his gun but the man was good. He keep himself hidden and his back to the wall.

"Put the guns down or she gets it." Everyone looked to Esposito for direction. He thought for a moment and then slowly lowered his gun and the others in the bullpen followed his lead.

"OK now I need to know where Robert Baker is."

"Sir he's right here in the interrogation room. Would you like to watch?"

"No I don't want to watch, but I want to make sure he's really here."

"Yes sir, right this way." Esposito began to lead him toward the door.

"Open it." The man was still keeping his back to the wall and an eye on the room. Esposito opened the door slowly. Hockett peeked inside. Through the glass he could see Baker inside with a female detective interviewing him.

Having seen Baker inside he relaxed just a bit. "OK everyone onto the elevator." In the middle of the day most of the precinct was out. The ten people who were left all got inside the elevator. "Now throw me a pair of handcuffs." As someone tossed a pair out he released the elevator button and put the cuffs onto Gates. Sitting her beside the door he grabbed a tool from his pocket and removed the metal panel for the elevator controls. Inside it he ripped out the wiring eliminating the chance that the elevator would return and hopefully stranding the occupants somewhere between floors.

"Where's the stairs?" Gates pointed over to a door to the right. Jamming the fire ax through those door handles Hockett grabbed Gates and headed to the interrogation room.

"Mr. Baker I'm Detective Beckett and I have a few questions for you. Can you tell me where you were on Tuesday night?"

"What happened to your legs?"

"Sir that's not important. Right now we are here to talk about you. Can you tell me where you were on Tuesday night?"

"Did it happen on the job?"

"Mr. Baker, I'm trying to help you out here. The quicker we get these questions out of the way the quicker you can get out of here."

"Detective Beckett let's not play that game. You and I both know there's no way you are going to let me out of here."

"Why's that?" He didn't have a chance to answer before the door burst open. Beckett saw Captain Gates with a knife to her throat and the face of Ronald Hockett just over her shoulder.

Hockett was wide-eyed and sweating as he closed the door behind them.

"Mr. Hockett." Beckett wheeled herself out from under the table so he could see that she wasn't a threat. "Look Gates there is going to be more trouble than she's worth. Why don't you let her go and we'll deal with this ourselves?"

"No I think two of you are better than one. Plus when we start out of here we are both going to need a shield."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Take the cuffs off of him."

"Sir I don't have a set of keys. They don't allow me cuffs or a weapon anymore." Hockett wasn't taking her word for it. He patted her down anyway.

Baker was getting agitated. "Shit. Hockett I can't take this table out of here with me."

"Just wait. I'll find a key. What about you?" He stood Gates up and patted her down. Then left the room.

Beckett and Gates could hear him rummaging through the drawers. Suddenly they were glad for all of Gates' rules. Several months ago a suspect had taken an extra set of keys from someone's desk and had almost gotten his cuffs off before someone saw him. Now everyone had to keep them on themselves. Realizing that they weren't just going to walk out of here Beckett was trying to formulate a plan. She knew that the recorder was still going so she started to question Baker again.

"So you said I wasn't going to let you walk out of here. Why is that?"

"Lady I must say you are good. I'd be willing to bet that's why you're still here given your handicap. In the midst of things you are still trying to get your man. I commend you for that I really do." Beckett was steaming inside. It was the first time since the accident that anyone had called her paralysis a handicap.

Before he could go any further Hockett returned "Man there are no keys anywhere. Maybe we can get the cuffs separated from the table." He began trying to pry the metal attachment from the table.

"Mr. Hockett why did you risk you life and your freedom to break Mr. Baker out today?"

"Let's just say I owe him. But you wouldn't understand."

"Oh really. Why don't you give it a try."

Frustrated by his inability to get the metal plate to budge he slammed the screwdriver down on the table. "You all here have no idea what goes on over there? To drive down the street wondering when its going to be your turn. Do you know what its like to be shot at?"

Beckett stopped him there. "Do you know what its like to be shot? To feel a bullet rip through your skin? To feel the life drain out of your body?" Reaching up she grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled it down revealing the scar on her chest from her shootings.

Hockett was standing behind her and couldn't see, but Baker did. "Damn, Detective you've been through it." Wanting to see what Baker was talking about Hockett came around her right side looking over her shoulder to see. Beckett took the opportunity to grab him. Leaning over his balance was already off so throwing herself forward she grabbed him around the waist and forced him to the floor. He braced himself with one arm that Beckett quickly grabbed. She felt him using the other one to try and throw her off. Beckett's weight was nothing for his military training, had Gates not jumped on him too, he would have quickly flipped her.

"Nice work Detective."

"You too Captain." As Beckett nodded to her there was commotion in the hall and Esposito and three others burst into the room.

"Nice of you guys to come back for us."

"Sorry the bastard screwed up the elevator. We got stuck three floors down. Took us a little while to get out." Esposito cuffed him as Gates stood and Beckett rolled off and pulled herself back into her wheelchair. Esposito escorted him to the next interrogation room.

Baker meanwhile sat watching it all. "See Detective, I told you, you would never allow me to walk out of here."

Composing herself she went right back into questioning him. "I guess after your service you've seen a lot of guys like me. Guys stuck in a wheelchair."

"Yes ma'am. A lot of good guys who deserved better…just like you."

"Does it make you mad?"

"Sure does"

"Mad enough to do something about it?"

"Ma'am did you catch the person who shot you?"

"No sir we haven't."

"What would you like to do to that person when you do catch them?"

Wanting to go with his line of thinking but trying to lead him toward the murders. "I'd like to kill them. But how and get away with it?"

Baker liked this detective but he knew what she was trying to do. He also knew that there was enough evidence under the floorboards in their apartment to lock them both up for life. He was going to string this out long enough to see if they found it.

"Detective, are you ever going to walk again?" He noticed that her face had gotten pale.

"I'm not sure. But I'm sure working toward it."

"Was it from the shooting?"

"No." As he asked her about it she'd gotten as white as a sheet. He assumed it was from his line of questioning. Baker smiled thinking he'd gotten to her.

"Excuse me for a moment." Wheeling herself out of the room. Robert Baker saw what was wrong; it had nothing to do with him. His friend and fellow combatant had landed a final blow when the Detective had taken him down. As she wheeled herself out Baker saw a trail of blood running down the outside of her left leg. He laughed to himself as the door closed behind her.

Outside the interrogation room Gates and Esposito saw her. "Beckett. What happened?"

"I don't kno…" with that she slumped over in her chair.

"She's bleeding." Gates saw the trail of blood behind her and moved to find to find the source. Locating the site they both saw Hockett's strange plastic knife was still embedded in her leg.

"Shit she's been stabbed."

"That's Hockett's knife. He did this and she didn't even feel it. Get some EMT's up here now."

Two hours later Beckett woke up slowly in a recovery room at the hospital with Castle by her side. "What happened?"

"Apparently Hockett stabbed you in the leg when you took him down. The doctor said with the paralysis you never felt it. You started to feel dizzy from the blood loss."

"How bad is it?"

"Well you'll have a scar, but having not eaten or slept much lately the doctor said you passed out pretty quick. You lost some blood but not enough to cause any lasting damage. They are giving you some now" he pointed to the bag of blood hanging with her IV "and said you'd probably be able to go home tomorrow."

"They called Dr. Parker to let him know what had happened and he's going to come by in a little while and talk with you."

"Talk with me about what?"

"Apparently when they brought you in to the ER you were responsive to verbal commands and you were moving your right leg."

"I was what?"

The biggest smile ever broke out across his face. "I know it's really bad to be happy about this but you were in pain and you lifted your knee and were rubbing your foot on the table."

Beckett was still a little groggy from the pain medication so she couldn't fully understand what he was saying. "I don't understand."

"Its OK let's just wait for Dr. Parker and he can explain it all to us. You just get some sleep." She'd closed her eyes in frustration and Castle began to rub his thumb across her forehead. Within moments he felt the muscles in her face relax.

After she was moved to a regular room Gates came up to visit. "You know Baker was right."

"What do you mean?"

"Even without the ability to walk you are worth so much to our squad. Today proved that again. You probably save both of our lives." Beckett was absorbing the Captain's compliment when Esposito and Ryan walked into the room.

"Captain, we've got good news." Esposito looked to Ryan.

"Sorry it took so long but we finally found the weapon and clothing as well as a notebook of dates and times under the floor boards of their apartment. The interesting thing is we found two sets of identical clothing and two weapons. We've sent it all to the lab for testing. It certainly looks like they may have both been involved."

"Based on Beckett's injuries it looks like Hockett carried out at least the last murder. He is the only one that's left handed."

"Good work you guys. Beckett take care we need you back as soon as possible."

"Yes Sir." With that the Captain left the room.

They all waited until they were sure she was gone before speaking. Ryan was the first. "Beckett thank you. Maybe now that you've saved her life she'll cut us a little slack."

"I doubt it. At least not as long as Castle is around." Esposito pretended to punch Castle in the arm.

"Haha very funny. I'm wearing her down." Even Kate snickered at that.

"Beckett in all honesty we're amazed by your strength everyday, and proud to be part of your team." Ryan looked close to tears as he hugged her. Esposito and Ryan said their goodbyes and left to go wrap up the case.

"See I'm not the only one amazed by you." Castle leaned in to kiss her and she shifted to meet him. As she did he noticed she used her right leg to turn herself.

As she kissed him she felt him pull away. "Rick what's wrong?" He walked to the end of the bed and pulled back the sheets.

"Kate move your toes."

"Castle what's up?"

"Kate just try for me." She rolled her eyes at him and reluctantly tried.

As she did she watched as all five of her toes bent. With those gorgeous green eyes wider than he'd ever seen them Kate looked up at him in amazement. "You used you leg just a minute ago to turn into the kiss. But you didn't realize it."

Intrigued by this returning ability Kate wanted more "Rick touch my foot." He willing fulfilled her request.

Smiling he knew that she could feel it. Overwhelmed by emotion he bent down and kissed her left foot and then her right. "Did you feel that too?" She nodded. "Both feet." She nodded again. He ran his hand up the outside of her left leg and stopped. "Did you feel that?" Again a nod. Then to the inside of her leg. Nodding and smiling she sat up and reached out for him. Castle took her into his arms and sat next to her in the bed. Soon he felt wetness on his shoulder. She was crying tears of relief.

As Castle held her there was a knock on the door. Dr. Parker walked in and saw them smiling. "So all you needed was a knife wound to the leg to jumpstart everything?"

Walking over to her he tested her feeling in both legs and her ability to move. He noted that she had feeling and movement in both feet and in her right leg. He didn't push the left one with the stitches so fresh. He looked at her chart and noted some things. "Kate" he smiled "I'm inclined to say that this time next week we're going to be working on you walking." With that Kate smiled along with him. "Now we've got to wait and let your left leg heal. This brings me to the next point. With the initial injury you didn't feel any pain. However, something to do with that trauma jumpstarted the connections and now you have begun to experience sensation and movement. They've given you some potent painkillers right now and with the resumption of movement and feeling your going to start to experience pain when those wear off. The gash to your leg is significant it went through your muscle and took a lot of stitches to close. Make sure you stay on top the pain medication." Dr. Parker wrote something on her chart and placed it back in the holder on the wall.

"Kate I've worked with a lot of people in your situation. I have to say that you've probably been my favorite. You've also been one that I'm the most proud of. I couldn't be happier for you, Detective." Kate smiled and nodded. As he left Castle approached the bed and pulled Kate into a giant hug into each other the two cried tears of relief.

The End


End file.
